A divided Portland City Council voted Wednesday to shield from scrutiny the identities of residents who pay - and those who don't pay - the city's controversial arts tax.

The annual, $35 arts tax has been plagued with problems since its inception, perhaps none more noticeable than its paltry collection rates. As a result, annual collections are far less than the $12 million that officials originally expected.

Money from the tax helps pay for teachers and non-profit arts programs.

Last year, The Oregonian/OregonLive requested a list of residents who paid the arts tax, plus a database of all residents who received an arts tax notice and those who received late fees.

The city initially refused to release the database records for notices and late fees. The Oregonian/OregonLive appealed that decision to the Multnomah County District Attorney, who ordered release.

But the city never provided the records, instead requiring $1,208 to perform the work.

Mayor Charlie Hales, who oversees revenue office collecting the arts tax, said changing the city's disclosure rules is now appropriate. The arts tax applies to all city residents 18 years and older who live above the federal poverty level and report at least $1,000 of taxable income.

"This is the right move when it comes to protecting reasonable taxpayer privacy," Hales said.

But Commissioner Dan Saltzman voted against the change. Saltzman said the city has a "problem" collecting money and he sees some value in the media publicly shaming residents who refuse to pay.

Because the tax is flat, Saltzman also said he also didn't think disclosing names would violate privacy issues surrounding individual income.

"I'm uncomfortable with the fact that the District Attorney ruled this information is public record," Saltzman said. "And our response is to come back and amend the ordinance. That just doesn't strike me as being the right approach."

City officials originally projected that 85 percent of residents who are required to pay the arts tax would pay. Instead, rates have been significantly less: 72 percent for 2012, 70 percent for 2013 and 68 percent for 2014.

Collection rates will continue to increase as the city sends more notices for delinquent taxes, said Thomas Lannom, who oversees revenue collections.

"The oldest tax year will likely always have the highest compliance rate because there have been more letters sent and more time to collect than other tax years," he wrote in an email.

Lannom didn't respond to a question about where the public can track annual compliance rates. As of last week, they weren't available on the city's website.